Estate agencies are to be policed by a new Anti-Money Laundering (AML) body after the Government last night decided to completely overhaul the system.

At the moment professional services including accountants and estate and letting agencies are regulated for AML by HMRC along with 22 smaller bodies.

Ministers have now opted to give one body the job over seeking professional services, namely the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Following a lengthy consultation, HM Treasury says that “under this model a single public body would be granted responsibility for all [money laundering] supervision for the legal and accountancy sectors, trust and company service providers, and potentially other sectors, such as estate agency and letting agency businesses, who are regulated under the Money Laundering Regulations.

Disjointed

Lucy Rigby (main image), Economic Secretary to the Treasury, says: “Despite the efforts of the existing supervisors, the current regime is complex and disjointed.

“The fact that there are 23 different supervisors for professional services firms inevitably leads to inconsistencies in supervision and enforcement and complicates essential collaboration with law enforcement agencies.

“The Government is determined to address these deficiencies and to ensure that the UK’s regulatory system is cohesive and easily navigable for professional services firms.”

Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, says: “The new regime will create enhanced opportunities for collaboration with key partners, including law enforcement, to tackle money laundering.

Burden

”But some trade bodes are not so keen on the changes. Sheila Kumar, Chief Executive of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, said: “This is not the outcome we had expected because, as we and others (including all the other legal sector regulators) made clear to HM Treasury in response to the 2023 consultation, it will create a dual supervision regime and risks increasing the burden on the regulated community and a financial burden that will be passed on to users of legal services.

“We await the detail and the next consultation on the operation of the new arrangements.”